ABC Open Great Southern WA
Ruth Heady
Ruth's passion for food is closely linked to her love of animals.
She already had a milking goat called Fairy, when her neighbour's dairy business came on the market early in 2011. For Ruth this was too good an opportunity to miss.
She bought a bigger property in Lowlands, obtaining approvals to set up her own dairy, transferring the original two Jersey cows, Pippa and Gemma, plus Fairy the goat and adding more cattle, and ducks, chooks and piglets. They all have names.
Ruth's day starts early. Her new home is not yet complete so she gets up at 4am, drives to the property, calls in Gemma and Pippa who stand, untethered, contentedly eating chaff and grains while Ruth hand milks them. Gentle music calms the cows.
Ruth says, "At that time of the morning the sky is still dark and the stars are amazing."
Within 10 minutes the milk is being pasteurised, then cooled, put in pots, culture added and kept warm for the yoghurt to set. Each pot is labelled with the name of the cow that produced the milk. Hence customers ask for "Two Gemma's, please!".
The freshness of the milk is so important to the quality of the yoghurt.
Ruth also makes fetta and ricotta cheeses and Greek style fruit yoghurt.
After milking Ruth drives to her job as a psychologist. She returns in the late afternoon to feed the animals but does not milk again because she is often late home and she respects the fact that animals like a routine.
Ruth loves the Saturday market. The reward for all her hard work is to share her passion for her cows and their products with her customers.
To meet the challenge of achieving a steady milk supply, Ruth has recently bought another Jersey, Hannah and her calf, Kate.
"It is a privilege to work with animals – to care for them and respect them and produce good products."
Photograph and interview by Meg Hannington.
Ruth Heady
Ruth's passion for food is closely linked to her love of animals.
She already had a milking goat called Fairy, when her neighbour's dairy business came on the market early in 2011. For Ruth this was too good an opportunity to miss.
She bought a bigger property in Lowlands, obtaining approvals to set up her own dairy, transferring the original two Jersey cows, Pippa and Gemma, plus Fairy the goat and adding more cattle, and ducks, chooks and piglets. They all have names.
Ruth's day starts early. Her new home is not yet complete so she gets up at 4am, drives to the property, calls in Gemma and Pippa who stand, untethered, contentedly eating chaff and grains while Ruth hand milks them. Gentle music calms the cows.
Ruth says, "At that time of the morning the sky is still dark and the stars are amazing."
Within 10 minutes the milk is being pasteurised, then cooled, put in pots, culture added and kept warm for the yoghurt to set. Each pot is labelled with the name of the cow that produced the milk. Hence customers ask for "Two Gemma's, please!".
The freshness of the milk is so important to the quality of the yoghurt.
Ruth also makes fetta and ricotta cheeses and Greek style fruit yoghurt.
After milking Ruth drives to her job as a psychologist. She returns in the late afternoon to feed the animals but does not milk again because she is often late home and she respects the fact that animals like a routine.
Ruth loves the Saturday market. The reward for all her hard work is to share her passion for her cows and their products with her customers.
To meet the challenge of achieving a steady milk supply, Ruth has recently bought another Jersey, Hannah and her calf, Kate.
"It is a privilege to work with animals – to care for them and respect them and produce good products."
Photograph and interview by Meg Hannington.